The Contradictory Christ PDF
Preview The Contradictory Christ
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF – FINAL,2/12/2020,SPi OXFORD STUDIES IN ANALYTIC THEOLOGY SeriesEditors MichaelC.Rea OliverD.Crisp OUPCORRECTEDPROOF – FINAL,2/12/2020,SPi OXFORD STUDIES IN ANALYTIC THEOLOGY AnalyticTheologyutilizesthetoolsandmethodsofcontemporaryana- lytic philosophy for the purposes of constructive Christian theology, payingattentiontotheChristiantraditionanddevelopmentofdoctrine. This innovative series of studies showcases high-quality, cutting-edge researchinthisarea,inmonographsandsymposia. published titles include: MetaphysicsandtheTri-PersonalGod WilliamHasker TheTheologicalProjectofModernism FaithandtheConditionsofMineness KevinW.Hector TheEndoftheTimelessGod R.T.Mullins Atonement EleonoreStump Humility,Pride,andChristianVirtueTheory KentDunnington InDefenseofExtendedConciliarChristology APhilosophicalEssay TimothyPawl LoveDivine JordanWessling ASystematicAccountofGod’sLoveforHumanity VoicesfromtheEdge CentringMarginalizedPerspectivesinAnalyticTheology MichellePanchuk,MichaelRea ThePrinciplesofJudaism SamuelLebens OUPCORRECTEDPROOF – FINAL,2/12/2020,SPi The Contradictory Christ JC BEALL 1 OUPCORRECTEDPROOF – FINAL,2/12/2020,SPi 3 GreatClarendonStreet,Oxford,OX26DP, UnitedKingdom OxfordUniversityPressisadepartmentoftheUniversityofOxford. ItfurtherstheUniversity’sobjectiveofexcellenceinresearch,scholarship, andeducationbypublishingworldwide.Oxfordisaregisteredtrademarkof OxfordUniversityPressintheUKandincertainothercountries ©JcBeall2021 Themoralrightsoftheauthorhavebeenasserted FirstEditionpublishedin2021 Impression:1 Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedin aretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,withoutthe priorpermissioninwritingofOxfordUniversityPress,orasexpresslypermitted bylaw,bylicenceorundertermsagreedwiththeappropriatereprographics rightsorganization.Enquiriesconcerningreproductionoutsidethescopeofthe aboveshouldbesenttotheRightsDepartment,OxfordUniversityPress,atthe addressabove Youmustnotcirculatethisworkinanyotherform andyoumustimposethissameconditiononanyacquirer PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyOxfordUniversityPress 198MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NY10016,UnitedStatesofAmerica BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData Dataavailable LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2020951048 ISBN 978–0–19–885236–0 DOI:10.1093/oso/9780198852360.001.0001 PrintedandboundinGreatBritainby ClaysLtd,ElcografS.p.A. LinkstothirdpartywebsitesareprovidedbyOxfordingoodfaithand forinformationonly.Oxforddisclaimsanyresponsibilityforthematerials containedinanythirdpartywebsitereferencedinthiswork. OUPCORRECTEDPROOF – FINAL,2/12/2020,SPi Forallwho’vesensedthecontradiction,andtoanywho’veyettodoso... OUPCORRECTEDPROOF – FINAL,2/12/2020,SPi OUPCORRECTEDPROOF – FINAL,2/12/2020,SPi Preface Aim Thisbookhasoneaim:toadvanceacontradictorychristology–andthereby a contradictory christian theology – as concisely as possible compatible withuser-friendliness,andwithanemphasisonthebigpictureratherthan intricatedetails.Assuch,thebookdoesnotansweralldetailsthatacademic theologiansorphilosophersorbiblicalscholarsmayraise;futurediscussion enjoysaninvitationfromthefuture.Thepointofthecurrentworkistoput theaccountinbroaderconversationsbeyondacademicjournals.(Thisisn’t tosaythatthebookisa‘tradebook’–itisn’t–orthatit’swrittenwithaneye specificallyonthemythical‘generalreader’,butthebookiswrittenwithout pausingateverypotentialacademicconcern.) Previouswork Substantial parts of this material were first published in The Journal of AnalyticTheology(JAT)asasymposiumonmyinitialdefinitionanddefense ofContradictoryChristology(Beall,2019a).Despitetheoverlap,thisbook presents significant new aspects of the account, including positive reasons foracceptingtheaccount,comparativecommentsonsalientalternatives,a handful of new objections and replies, and a brief glimpse towards future workonaunifiedapproachtowardsthetrinity. Futurework This book focuses on christology, and in particular the so-called funda- mentalproblemofchristology(muchmoreonwhichthroughoutthebook), namely,theapparentcontradictionofChrist’sbeingfullyhumanandfully divine.Thebookisintendedtobethefirstinatwo-bookseries(ofsorts), thesecondfocusingin depth onthetrinity. Thefinal chapterof thisbook OUPCORRECTEDPROOF – FINAL,2/12/2020,SPi viii preface (viz., §6) sketches a few – but only a very few – preliminary issues in the directionsofsubsequentwork. Hope Myhopeisthatreaderswhoareatleastnotdogmaticallycommittedtothe standardoff-the-shelfstoryoflogic(viz.,so-calledclassicallogic)findthis booktobenotonlyinterestingbutilluminating–perhapsevenliberating, loosening one not from the demands of a rational christian theology but from the demands of a logically consistent one, allowing one to shake off thescalesandaccepttheinconsistenttruthinitsscandalousbutawesome glory. I carry no illusion of final achievement in this work. Elements of the full truth, we know not exactly which ones, are vastly beyond us. But as responsible,systematicthinkersweareobligedtogivethetrueandcomplete- as-possible account, to the best of our abilities. This book is a step in that direction.Bymylights,thetruetheoryofChristisinconsistent:itcontains contradictions, claims that are false but, critically, also true. Conveying at leastthatmuchismyhope. Targetaudience The target audience is genuinely interdisciplinary (and ‘transdisciplinary’ and so on); it’s a very broad and varied audience. This book is written in awaythatisintendedtobeaccessibletoboththeologiansandphilosophers; however,thebookchieflyaimstomakeatheologicalcontribution,written and read by theologians who are not only interested in how best to make senseoftheapparentcontradictionofChrist,butarealsointerestedinthe pursuit of systematic theology as a systematic truth-seeking enterprise, an enterprisetherebysubjecttotheuniversalconstraintsoflogicandthespace oflogicalpossibility. Conventionsgoverningstyle Religiousnamesandadjectives:spelling.Whileitsrationaleremainsunclear tomeInonethelessfollowstandardEnglishconventioninusinguppercase OUPCORRECTEDPROOF – FINAL,2/12/2020,SPi preface ix ‘C’,‘J’,and‘M’whentalkingaboutChristians,Jews,andMuslims,understood asthosewho,respectively,accepttargetchristiandoctrine(formypurposes, doctrineandcreedsaffirmedatleastupthroughtheCouncilofChalcedon in 451), jewish doctrine, and islamic doctrine. In turn, and as reflected in the previous sentence, I use lowercase letters when the target terms are in adjectival position.One rationale forthisissimply aesthetic. Scattering a multitude of uppercase letters all over a Page makes for Aesthetically displeasing Pages. Another rationale is that my chosen convention is in keepingwithrelated conventions,includingthecommonobservationthat one can be a Platonist without spending one’s life dreaming of platonic essences or engaging in platonic relations or even endorsing all platonic doctrines. The same considerations apply to christological theories (any christology),whicharesystematicaccountsofChrist.Ifaspecificchristology isunderdiscussion,suchasConciliarChristology(perTimothyPawl’swork) or even Contradictory Christology as specifically developed in this book, uppercaselettersmaybeused–butevenhere,Iadmit,there’sverystrong pressureagainsttheuppercase. Quotation marks. I use single quotation marks in what, at least in phi- losophy,isoftencalledtheAnalysisconvention.Onthisconvention,single quotationmarksareusedinthreeverydifferentways,wherethegivenusage is always clear from context. First, I generally use single quotation marks tomentionwords,aswhenImentiontheword‘mention’.Ialsousesingle quotation marks for direct quotation, as when I directly quote Professor Dr. Oliver Crisp who, in conversation, once replied to something I said by saying nothing more nor less than ‘Very good.’ (The only exception to thedirect-quotationconventionisexceedinglyrare:viz.,adirectquotation withinadirectquotationwithinadirectquotation.Thisissorarethatfurther commentontheconventionisunnecessary.)Finally,Iusesinglequotation marksforscarequotesor(equivalently)shudderquotes,aswhenIsaythat enjoyable‘pains’mightnotbepainsatall.Asalways,communicationrests largelyoncontext,andwhenitcomestoquotationconventionscontextis the cure. And if one wants a rationale for adhering to the given Analysis convention,Iturntotworationales.First,onceagain,thereisanaesthetic one:singlequotationmarksdothejobwithoutclutteringpages.Secondis Ockham-ish:whyusemoremarkswhenfewerwilldo? Em dashes. Here again, I follow the given Analysis style by spelling an em dash as an en dash flanked by the single-space character – as I do in thissentence.(Theother,perhapsmorecommon,wayofspellingemdashes doessowithoutspaces—asdoneinthisparentheticalremark.)TheAnalysis
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